Unilever Polska to halt acquisition strategy as savings reach euro 10 million

Unilever Polska is close to completing its restructuring process, as part of which it has cut costs by over euro 10 million annually. The Polish division of the international fast-moving consumer good giant has seen its sales hit in recent years by the slump on the Russian market. Russia has been the destination for a significant part of Unilever Polska's output, and the company's strategy for dealing with the fall in demand has been to introduce cheaper brands. This was primarily done through takeovers, but according to Unilever Polska president Cees't Hart, the company is not planning any more acquisitions. "The market prefers cheaper brands, so by introducing them we were able to keep sales at a good level," said Hart. This year Unilever plans to record sales in Poland of zl.1.8 billion, with a zl.2 billion target set for 2003. (Puls Biznesu, p. 7) T.J.